United States flag

The flag of the United States of America —known in the country as the Stars and Stripes, Old Glory and the Star-Spangled Banner—consists of thirteen horizontal stripes of equal size, seven alternating red and six white, and a blue rectangle in the sector of the upper left corner with fifty white five-pointed stars. The bars represent the original Thirteen Colonies that became independent from the United Kingdom and the stars represent the fifty states that make up the Union.

History

U.S. flag. U.S. waking in Newport, California.

The flag of the United States has been modified 26 times. The 48-star version lasted 47 years, until the 49-star version was adopted on July 4, 1959. The mark was broken by the current 50-star version, adopted on July 4, 1960.

The first flag

Grand Union Flag

Flag of the British East India Company

George Washington arms shield

At the time of the Declaration of Independence of 4 July 1776, the United States had no official flag. The one called American flag It was never official; it was used during the United States War of Independence and served as a basis for the future national flag. That flag is very similar to the flag of the British East India Company (CBIA) and there are those who think it was inspired by it. The truth is that the first flag used very similar to that of the CBIA was the Grand Union FlagAlso called Continental Colors, Congress Colors, First Navy Ensign or even Cambridge Flag. Such a flag that kept the Union Jack version of his time (i.e. a Union Jack with the cross of St. George ordained in white (symbol of England) on a white Cross of St. Andrew on a blue background (symbol of Scotland) did not have official status, although it was the first emblem of the United States Navy before the formal declaration of independence.

Another theory about the origin of the flag is that it was inspired by the coat of arms of George Washington, a native of England. On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress approved the Flag Resolution, determining that "the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen alternating red and white bars, that the union be thirteen white stars on a blue field, representing a new constellation." In fact, June 14 is Flag Day. Some scholars discuss the arrangement of the stars within the blue canton. Thus, Francis Hopkinson, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, claims the authorship of the flag that bears his name, while another design, with the stars in a circle, is attributed to Betsy Ross, who sewed a flag for George Washington.; however, none is historically accurate.

Francis Hopkinson's design of the U.S. flag. U.S.

Variant of Betsy Ross

Evolution of the flag

First 13 stars were put on (New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia), then there were 15 when Kentucky joined and Vermont in 1818. After Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee joined, the flag already had 20 stars. In 1820 Illinois joined; in 1822 Alabama and Maine; in 1836 Missouri. Until 1890 they were added one by one until they became 38 states. In 1891 Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Washington were added. Later Wyoming, Utah and Oklahoma joined. Later, in 1912, Arizona and New Mexico joined, with 48 stars. Alaska joined in 1960, followed by Hawaii. So there are 50 stars representing 50 states.

Construction of the flag

The credited designer of the current 50-star American flag is Robert G. Heft. He was 17 years old at the time and created the flag design in 1958 as a high school class project while living with his grandparents in Ohio.

Specifications

The basic design of the current flag is specified in title 4 of the United States Code, which includes the addition of new stars to represent new states. The specification gives the following values:

• A = height (1.0)
• B = width (1.9)
• C = high canton (0.5385 = A*7/13)
• D = canton width (0.76 = B*2/5)
• E = F = spaced between star lines (0.0538 = C/10)
• G = H = spaced between star columns (0.0633 = D/12)
• K = star diameter (0.0616 = L*4/5)
• L = strip width (0.0769 = A/13)

These specifications are contained in an executive order that, in rigor, only regulates flags made by or for the U.S. federal government. In practice, most American flags available for sale to the public have a different relationship between width and height. Some common sizes are 2 × 3 meters or 4 × 6 feet (relation 2/3); 2.5 × 4 feet or 5 x 8 feet (relation 5/8); or 3 × 5 feet or 6 × 10 meters (relation 3/5).

Symbols

On 24 March 1918, United States Embassy personnel in Petrograd were evacuated to Sweden through Finland. The officers crossed the line of the front of the Finnish civil war with the United States flag on Lampaluoto Island in Pori, Finland.

According to the book Our flag (Nuestra bandera, in Spanish), of the House of Representatives of the United States, "the colors red, white, and blue had no meaning for the Stars and Stripes when it was adopted in 1777". However, about the colors of the Seal of the United States, adopted in 1782, it says that &# 34;white symbolizes purity and innocence, blood red and courage, and blue the sky, perseverance and justice".

Versions

No. stars	Flag	States represented by the new stars	Dates in force	Time in validity
0		None	2 January 1776-14 June 1777	1 year, 5 months and 12 days
13		New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia	14 June 1777-1 May 1795	17 years, 10 months and 16 days
15		Vermont, Kentucky	1 May 1795-3 July 1818	23 years, 2 months and 2 days
20		Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi	4 July 1818-3 July 1819	1 year
21		Illinois	4 July 1819-3 July 1820	1 year
23		Alabama, Maine	4 July 1820-3 July 1822	2 years
24		Missouri	4 July 1822-3 July 1836	14 years
25		Arkansas	4 July 1836-3 July 1837	1 year
26		Michigan	4 July 1837-3 July 1845	8 years
27		Florida	4 July 1845-3 July 1846	1 year
28		Texas	4 July 1846-3 July 1847	1 year
29		Iowa	4 July 1847-3 July 1848	1 year
30		Wisconsin	4 July 1848-3 July 1851	3 years
31		California	4 July 1851-3 July 1858	7 years
32		Minnesota	4 July 1858-3 July 1859	1 year
33		Oregon	4 July 1859-3 July 1861	2 years
34		Kansas	4 July 1861-3 July 1863	2 years
35		West Virginia	4 July 1863-3 July 1865	2 years
36		Nevada	4 July 1865-3 July 1867	2 years
37		Nebraska	4 July 1867-3 July 1877	10 years
38		Colorado	4 July 1877-3 July 1890	13 years
43		Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington	4 July 1890-3 July 1891	1 year
44		Wyoming	4 July 1891-3 July 1896	5 years
45		Utah	4 July 1896-3 July 1908	12 years
46		Oklahoma	4 July 1908-3 July 1912	4 years
48		Arizona, New Mexico	4 July 1912-3 July 1959	47 years
49		Alaska	4 July 1959-3 July 1960	1 year
50		Hawaii	4 July 1960-current	62 years

Other flags

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  Current United States bow flag

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  United States Special Pavilion for Recreation Ships